Corsi: ACLU Will Shut Down Churches!

Jerome Corsi continues the 2013 World Tour of Paranoid Delusions (alternatively, the 2013 World Tour of Lying His Ass Off) in support of his new anti-ACLU book. Appearing on Phyllis Schlafly’s radio show, he said that if the Supreme Court votes for marriage equality, the ACLU will try to shut down the churches.

Corsi: The ACLU has been very strong behind the same-sex marriage. They have a whole section of the ACLU devoted to the LGBT agenda, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. And, Phyllis, if we get the Supreme Court saying that there’s a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, I think the next thing that’s going to happen is that we’re going to see an attempt to define hate speech, any minister or priest who from the pulpit condemns homosexual behavior from a scriptural basis or on principles of Judeo-Christian faith. And following that, the left will not only try to close that church down, but they’ll do it through pressing to take the tax-exempt status away from the church because the priest or the minister doesn’t agree with their agenda and is now engaged in ‘hate speech.’

Yeah, that ACLU is always trying to censor anti-gay speech. Like last month, when they represented a high school student who wore an anti-gay t-shirt in Connecticut and succeeded in getting the school that tried to censor him to back down on their decision.

“The First Amendment was written to protect unpopular speech, which is naturally the kind of speech that will always need protection,” Sandra Staub, legal director of the ACLU of Connecticut, told WFSB of CBS. “The ACLU has fought hard for same-sex marriage and we couldn’t agree with Seth less on that issue, but he is absolutely correct about his right to express his opinion.”

They did the same thing in a similar case in a California case several years ago. And in Illinois in 2008. And in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2007. And in Louisiana in 2006. The even defended the right of the Westboro Baptist Church to protest at funerals. Clearly they’re trying to shut down all anti-gay speech, right?

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

http://www.facebook.com/den.wilson d.c.wilson

I think Corsi believes this because it’s exactly what he’d do to gay rights organizations if that pesky First Amendment didn’t get in the way. Naturally, he assumes that his opponents would try to use the same tactics.

http://www.gregory-gadow.net Gregory in Seattle

As often as not, the ACLU is defending churches and religious groups: the First Amendment is the law of the land for everyone. But the right-wingers can’t be bothered with facts.

dingojack

This reminds me Ed, you haven’t handed out a Bryan Fischer award in a while.

Dingo

cptdoom

And following that, the left will not only try to close that church down, but they’ll do it through pressing to take the tax-exempt status away from the church because the priest or the minister doesn’t agree with their agenda and is now engaged in ‘hate speech.’

I was told in Catholic school that Southern Baptists, Mormons, Christian Scientists, Assemblies of God – basically any church begun after 1800, were all “pseudo-Christian cults” that worshipped a false God. Somehow both federal and state laws have been able to protect the civil rights of all the members of those religious lifestyle choices even though the Catholics say bad things about them, and the Catholics have not been shut down. Amazing how that works.

http://dododreams.blogspot.com/ John Pieret

This part kinda depends:

… they’ll do it through pressing to take the tax-exempt status away from the church because the priest or the minister doesn’t agree with their agenda and is now engaged in ‘hate speech.’

Now, if that priest or minister starts engaging in politics, sermonizing that his flock should vote for or against a particular candidate based on his/her position on gay rights, then members of the left, like Americans United, may agitate for removing their tax exemption because politicking violates the rules for nonprofit status. I doubt, however, that the ACLU would get involved in that.

http://festeringscabofrealityblogspot.com fifthdentist

Again, I think a comparison with Loving v. Virginia is a parallel.

There are churches today where there is still voices from the pulpit assailing “race-mixing.” Hell, last year the (Tennessee, I think) church that refused to marry an interracial couple. And justices of the peace that have refused to marry such couples.

I recall much ridicule of “my Negro friends even use my bathroom” boy, but to my knowledge none of those people went to — or were even threatened with — jail.

whheydt

Actually….I’d like to see the tax exemption for churches eliminated for *all* of them, if only because the IRS has no business being in a position to decide what is or is not a “church”. Reclassify the lot of them as corporations and apply the normal corporate laws to them.

dugglebogey

It’s trivially easy to ferret out reactionary wingnuts that only know politics from what they’ve heard on talk radio: Ask them what they think of the ACLU.

If they start to choke and vomit, then you know you can’t take anything they’ve said seriously.

http://drx.typepad.com Dr X

cptdoom:

religious lifestyle choices

I must remember to use that one.

skinnercitycyclist

There are churches today where there is still voices from the pulpit assailing “race-mixing.” Hell, last year the (Tennessee, I think) church that refused to marry an interracial couple. And justices of the peace that have refused to marry such couples.

The difference being that churches have the right to discriminate in such cases, justices of the peace (and county clerks) do not.

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About the Author

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. Read More...